What have we learned with the recent winter weather storms?

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       It should come as no shock that during the recent and ongoing winter weather storms here in the US that we continue to be at the mercy of mother nature's pure unadulterated power and that is not likely to change. The weather is the weather and we have no magic machine to control it or influence it, we can however do a better job of  being prepared for it so as to lessen it's effects on us and most times it costs us little to no extra, just common sense.

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                                                                                                 Think to yourself how many times you have witnessed just before a storm how many people scramble to the store to stock up on basic essentials? Are our cupboards and pantries that bare? Apparently so. We all too often take for granted that we can just hop in the car and run to the grocery store when ever we want to and pick up whats needed for the day, granted we all like fresh vegetables and meats but during times of environmental distress it may not be practical or safe.

      Many of you know that most stores only carry on average a two day supply on the shelves, this takes into consideration a normal environment with regular deliveries. Now if you throw some type of disruption the store shelves can be emptied out in a matter of hours and that is not a situation that you want to be involved with.

     Any type of situation can be stressful but this is one that you can avoid by just taking a little extra time and effort. You can start by by adding an item or two every time you shop and put these items in one corner of you cupboard or pantry and not count them as your regular shopping items but as you backup supply. You can add to this until you reach a comfortable level of a three or four day supply which is plenty to get you through many if not most situations. To keep the food fresh you can rotate it out with new stocks as needed, recommended items should be of the type that you eat regularly and enjoy, I would also take into consideration that many if not most of these items be of a type that require minimal preparation requirements such as the need for utilities. Take for instance if the power is out, can you cook what you have bought? Foods that can be eaten cold work well or if you have an outside grill you can plan to use that, you will need to tailor to your own needs.

I will most likely have a supplemental to this post in the future.

Prepology